Local Roundup: Russell happy to be home for weekend

After today’s doubleheader against Pacific, Hannah Russell plans to have her Santa Clara teammates over for dinner. Her mom’s picking up De Vinci’s, and there were rumors of homemade desserts.

Not bad for a road trip.

The Pacific softball team’s last homestand of the season starts at noon today against Santa Clara, and it coincides with a bit of a homecoming for Russell, a former St. Mary’s standout. Now a sophomore catcher for the Broncos, Russell heads into this week with a .303 batting average, best on the team.

It’s been a poor season for Santa Clara as a unit, with the Broncos trotting into Stockton with a 6-33 overall record and a 1-8 mark in the West Coast Conference, good for last place. But for Russell, this season has served as an important bounce back.

Entering her freshman year having hit .392 in four varsity campaigns with the Rams, Russell hit .286 with five doubles in 17 games for the Broncos. But she missed 32 games due to injuries, and came into fall workouts with her share of jitters.

Russell said she tried not to go into this season comparing herself to the player she was before. But when February hit, everything clicked.

“It all started to kind of come back, and I was able to get into the swing of things,” Russell said. “It made me appreciate everything I have, and I’ve been playing every day like it’s my last.”

For now, the Ram-turned-Bronco is happy to be home, and even happier to enjoy some home-cooked grub.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Russell said. “Ever since I went to Santa Clara, I’ve been waiting for this weekend.It’s going to be a lot of fun."

— By Nick Woodard, Record Staff Writer

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Delta 16, Diablo Valley 1

At Pleasant Hill, the Mustangs (34-6, 19-5 Big 8) clinched the No. 1 seed in the Northern California playoffs, which begin next week.

Beau Philip went 4 for 6 with a homer, double and three RBI, Jimmy McClenaghan went 3 for 3 with four RBI, Trent North went 2 for 3 with a triple and an RBI, and Jordan Vujovich went 2 for 3 with an RBI for Delta. Kevin Kyle (7-1) went six innings for the Mustangs, allowing a run and six hits and striking out eight.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

Franklin 27, McNair 2

At McNair, Eric Segura went 3 for 5 with two triples, a double and 5 RBI for the Yellowjackets (10-10, 5-6 SJAA). Kevon Churchill went 3 for 5 with two RBI and scored five runs, and Xavier Chavez went 2 for 2 with four RBI and scored four times for Franklin. McNair is 2-20, 1-11.

Stagg 8, Edison 5

At Stagg, Tomas Jones went 2 for 3 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored for the Delta Kings (8-12, 6-5 SJAA). Isaac Sulamo had a triple and an RBI for the Vikings (2-18, 2-10).

HIGH SCHOOL BADMINTON

TCAL League Championships

At Tokay, Lincoln’s Jairren Tominez and Linda Keo won Tri-City Atlhetic League titles in the boys’ and girls’ singles finals, respectively. Both were also named singles MVP’s.

In doubles, Ammar Ali and Muhammad Khan of Tokay took the boys title and the boys doubles MVP. On the girls’ side, Annie Andrews and Victoria Song of Lodi won the title and the MVP.

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

Bear Creek 25, Stagg 4

At Stagg, Ashley Pire and Ashley Laughlin both hit grand slams as Bear Creek improved to 11-0 in the San Joaquin Athletic Association.

For Stagg, which slipped to 4-7 in the SJAA, Carly Ruiz went 2 for 3, Bri Rodriguez had a double and Athina Basilio had a triple.

Linden 10, Summerville 0

At Tuolumne, pitchers Hannah Ortega and Abby Peters have combined for 23 consecutive scoreless innings for the first-place Lions (17-5, 13-1 MLL). Carly Luchetti had a home run and three RBI, Gabby Herrera went 2 for 2 with a triple and two RBI, Destiny Holt went 2 for 4 with two RBI and Amber Andrews had a double with two RBI for Linden. The Bears are 4-15, 2-12.